Trump says abortion comments were taken out of context

WASHINGTON - Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump now says his contentious comments on abortion were taken out of context.

Trump was answering questions during an MSNBC town hall taping Wednesday when he said there should be "some form of punishment" for women who get abortions if the procedure is outlawed. He later reversed his position in a statement.

In an interview with Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" set to air Thursday night, Trump blames the flub on a "convoluted" interview.

"This was a long, convoluted question," he says. "This was a long discussion and they just cut it out."

Trump acknowledges that, "It could be that I misspoke" but insists he's always believed abortion providers, not women, should be held responsible for performing illegal abortions.